Get Out the Vote: A Framework to Mobilize Medical Professionals to Vote
Authors: Hussain S. Lalani, Arthur S. Hong
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2022)

Ideas and OpinionsOctober 2022Get Out the Vote: A Framework to Mobilize Medical Professionals to VoteHussain S. Lalani, MD, MPH and Arthur S. Hong, MD, MPHHussain S. Lalani, MD, MPHProgram On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (H.S.L.)Search for more papers by this author and Arthur S. Hong, MD, MPHDepartment of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas (A.S.H.).Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M22-2168 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail This November, Americans will elect 34 U.S. senators, 36 state governors, 435 U.S. representatives, and countless local leaders during the midterm elections. The past several decades have demonstrated how dramatically the U.S. health care system can be affected by laws and regulations passed by elected representatives. These changes directly affect the ability of medical professionals to deliver high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care in line with their professional and personal values. And yet, even in recent years, medical professionals—physicians, nurses, and dentists in particular—voted much less often than the general population (1–3). By not participating in the most fundamental aspect ...References1. Solnick RE, Choi H, Kocher KE. Voting behavior of physicians and healthcare professionals. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36:1169-71. [PMID: 33483814] doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06461-2 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Grande D, Asch DA, Armstrong K. Do doctors vote. J Gen Intern Med. 2007;22:585-9. [PMID: 17443365] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Lalani HS, Johnson DH, Halm EA, et al. Trends in physician voting practices in California, New York, and Texas, 2006-2018. JAMA Intern Med. 2021;181:383-5. [PMID: 33090177] doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.6887 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Ahmed A, Chouairi F, Li X. Analysis of reported voting behaviors of US physicians, 2000-2020. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5:e2142527. [PMID: 35006249] doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.42527 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Lalani HS, Hong AS, Siddiqui R. Barriers to voting in 2020 among resident physicians. J Gen Intern Med. 2021;36:254-5. [PMID: 33089406] doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06308-w CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. National Conference of State Legislatures. Same Day Voter Registration. Accessed at www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-registration.aspx on 7 July 2022. Google Scholar7. Martin A, Raja A, Meese H. Health care-based voter registration: a new kind of healing. Int J Emerg Med. 2021;14:26. [PMID: 33931010] doi:10.1186/s12245-021-00351-y CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. League of Women Voters Education Fund. vote411 Voter Guide. Accessed at http://onyourballot.vote411.org/build.do on 6 July 2022. Google Scholar9. National Conference of State Legislatures. Early In-Person Voting. Accessed at www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/early-voting-in-state-elections.aspx on 19 July 2022. Google Scholar10. Time To Vote. Accessed at www.maketimetovote.org on 5 July 2022. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL), Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (H.S.L.)Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas (A.S.H.).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M22-2168.Corresponding Author: Hussain S. Lalani, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1620 Tremont Street, Suite 3030, Boston, MA 02120; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu.Author Contributions: Conception and design: H.S. Lalani.Analysis and interpretation of the data: H.S. Lalani, A.S. Hong.Drafting of the article: H.S. Lalani.Critical revision for important intellectual content: H.S. Lalani, A.S. Hong.Final approval of the article: H.S. Lalani, A.S. Hong.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: H.S. Lalani.This article was published at Annals.org on 13 September 2022. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics October 2022Volume 175, Issue 10Page: 1476-1478KeywordsHealth care policy ePublished: 13 September 2022 Issue Published: October 2022 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2022 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...